Man charged with shining laser pointer at Marine One with Trump aboard
A man accused of having shone a laser pointer on the presidential helicopter Marine with President Trump on board was arrested on Monday for federal accusations.
Jacob Samuel Winkler, 33, of Washington, DC, is accused of having targeted the beam of a laser pointer on a plane, a crime liable to a maximum prison sentence of five years. Online judicial archives do not list the representative’s lawyer.
Marine One was airborne on Saturday after leaving the White House when a patrol officer of American secret services spotted Winkler walking on a sidewalk, shirtless and speaking loudly, wrote the officer in an affidavit. The officer said that he had shone a flashlight in Winkler, who would have retaliated by blinking a red laser beam on the officer’s face.
While Marine One flew over, Winkler looked up and shone the laser pointer to the helicopter, according to the officer.
“This has put a marine risk of an airborne collision,” wrote the head of secret services.
After the officer handcuffed him, Winkler said sentences several times like “I should apologize to Donald Trump”, according to the Affidavit.
Winkler reportedly told investigators that he reports the laser “to all kinds of things, like stop signs”, and did not know that he could not point it to Marine, says the Affidavit. The investigators also found a small knife in his possession, according to the officer.
“This behavior endangers Marine One and everyone on board,” said American lawyer Jeanine Pirro, the main DC prosecutor, in a press release to the Associated Press. “If you are engaging in this law, you will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The court file does not say if someone aboard the helicopter noticed the laser. But the officer said Winkler’s conduct could have temporarily blinded or disoriented a pilot, placing Marine a risk of an airborne collision with other helicopters in the region.
The Federal Aviation Administration claims that lasers represent a “serious security threat” against planes because they can impatiate pilots. The agency has recorded 5,913 laser incidents so far this year – about 28 per day – and 12,840 last year.
